Re: Pronunciation of Station Names

[G.Lambert@unsw.edu.au (Geoff Lambert)]

People might like to try their hand at pronouncing Welsh station names
such as Llandudno.  When I was there, the P.A. on the platform made it
sound like someone trying to sing with a mouthfull of salada biscuits,
but a Welsh friend says it sounds something like 

SsssshhhllnnnGrrrrhhhhhdno


Or, better yet, LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCH WYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGO
OGOCH, the worlds longest (or is it 2nd-longest?) railway station
name, whose pronounciation is described this way

"We will break the name up into sections and take at look at how each
section is  pronounced. The sections are listed below and are followed
by a detailed description. 
               LLAN - FAIR - PWLL - GWYN - GYLL - GO - GER -
               YCH - WYRN - DROB - WLL - LLAN - TY - SILIO -
               GO - GO - GOCH 
               
LLAN - To start off with, pronounce this section as you would do the
Scottish word "clan". Take particular notice of how the "ll" is
pronounced. It is difficult to explain in words and is more easily
learnt by oral example. Lie your tongue flat in your mouth so that the
tip is firmly touching the bridge behind your front teeth. Keeping the
tip of your tongue in place, try and touch your back teeth with the
sides of your tongue - now breathe out forcing the air to run strongly
over the back of your tongue. This will cause a vibrating noise near
your back teeth. Again, keeping the tongue in position, gently change
the shape of your tongue until the sound becomes more controlled. This
is the "ll" sound you are looking for. 

FAIR - Simply pronounce this section as you would the english word
"fire", (not like you would expect to pronounce the word "fair" in
english!) and change the "f" for a "v". 

PWLL - Now you have been practicing your "ll" sound this will be a
little easier to explain. The "pw" section is pronounced like the "pu"
in the english word "put". Now add the "ll" on the end as described
above.

 GWYN - You may have heard the Welsh name "Gwyn", well this is
pronounced in exactly the same way. Just say the english word "win"
and put a "g" in front of it. (pronounce the "g" as you would in the
word "gone"). Easy. 
GYLL - This is a bit more tricky. First say the english word "gil" (as
associated with fish!").   Then change the "l" (as in "let") to "ll"
as explained above.  GO - Looks easy doesn't it - it is! Pronounce it
as you would the "go" in "gone" 

GER - Simply say the word "care" but change the "c" for a "g". 

YCH - Like the pronounciation of "ll", this is another tricky section
to explain. Think of something you don't like and say "yuck". Now take
the "y" from the beginning to leave "uck".Now change the "ck" to "ch"
as pronounced in the Scottish word "loch". 

WYRN - This looks more complicated that it is. Just say the english
word "win". 

DROB - First say the english word "draw" and then add a "b" on the
end. Easy. 

 WLL - You've learnt this already. Its pronounced the same as "pwll"
above but without the "p". 

LLAN - Again, this is exactly the same as the "llan" at the beginning
of this section. 

TY - Simply pronounce this section as you would the "t" in "twig". 

SILIO - Just say "silly - o". The "o" is pronounced as in "cot". 

GO - As above. 

GO - As above. 

GOCH - We're almost there. Simply say "go" as above, put the "ch"
after it and that's it! Put it all together and keep on practising."

THAT should stop this thread, surely?

Geoff Lambert